WNC residents receiving letters (obviously not all but some) that their mortgages have been sold this week to MR COOPER w new mortgage company with shares owned by Vanguard x.com
Vanguard (and Blackrock) also own shares in Piedmont Lithium (the mining company that just secured a contract before the flooding)
Just got back tonight from my local groups second trip to the area. The first one was in in a 10 foot box van taking supplies but mostly on a scouting mission. This trip we took a took a 26 foot box truck and 12 foot cargo trailer filled to the brim with propane heaters (which aren’t cheap) , kerosene lanterns, clean warm winter clothes, etc. I can only say that the devastation is worse then I even imagined. it will bring tears to your eyes.
It is raining again here in WNC, and the temps are about to drop into the low 30’s in lower areas, and 20’s in the mountains. Soooooo many people are still living in cars and tents. Many are NOT prepared for the cold and snow in the forecast. AND many of the roads that were temporarily set up, are about to close again for longer term repairs and the rigor of snow plows. I talked this morning to a Bat Cave Fireman who is expecting to be cut off again due to road repairs. And many of the members of Bat Cave Fire and Rescue were also victims of the disaster. They have fire fighting gear, cold weather rescue gear, etc all on order again. Bat Cave Fire and Rescue Department
We almost lost our station. It flooded our basement where we kept most of our bunker gear and equipment, and our office and lot’s of other supplies.
I am hoping to be there to help serve the Thanksgiving Dinner, but I am running into van problems again. I’ll be somewhere to help with Thanksgiving Dinner for hurricane victims, even if I have to walk somewhere!
Blessings to all, and send prayers to help the people recover here!!
Brigitte and Pippin
Folks will be needing support for months. It is however getting cold and the rush is on to house folks.
They don’t need clothes for the most part. Money for propane and propane canisters and butane canisters will be an issue all winter long.
If you have a charity you trust, please contact them and see what is needed or donate cash.
I learned today of 5 gallon buckets gallons of bleach and female sanitary supplies being needed. I will be purchasing these items and giving them to a neighbor to take. It’s nice to know specific needs and to meet them.
This afternoon I will attempt to dig some 4 feet deep inspection pits with my tiny tractor’s back hoe for a septic system so a charity can place RVs on a property. I figure it’s not rocket science and it frees up a professional for skilled work.
There are many pieces to the puzzle, I encourage everyone to place at least one, and some of the easy edge bits are still available.
I am actually looking for property that I will be putting in a trust down here to do just that. I have a few leads that I have found through my time volunteering here. And I am trying to find someone to drive my bus down from WI so I can donate it to a family here. It is 40 feet, so there is more room than most of the shed tiny homes that are being built.
I was on the property that flooded yesterday. I went back to creek for the first time since it is all dried up to look for my plow ( tractor implement). The old run in shed is still cantilevered over the creek. Many of the ruined belongings are still inside but it’s unsafe to try to remove them from the open side. Examining things up close gave the idea of removing the plywood walls with a saws all then using a pole with a hook to grab items from shed.
I am wanting to mostly empty it before dragging it up the bank with my truck, in order to reduce trash in the creek. I was fond of the old shed. It was made from logs/trees with plywood and recycled metal roofing added. The plywood sides were adorned with rows of dried decades old cow patties some of which still tenaciously remain just under the roof line.
The irrigation kit seems to be intact so there is likely enough for the now erected/ installed high tunnel and raided beds. A bright spot in a big mess.
The spooky part was standing on creek bank with the water a good 6 feet below me and seeing ground cloth hanging from tree branches well over my head and out of jumping up with arm outstretched reach. Additionally all the muddy brown straw, grasses and reed like vegetation clumped on branches of the trees along the creek at 8-9 feet over head gives a gloomy feeling especially when combined with the formerly black now grey-brown cloth drapes that used to be row covers. The whole scene has a Tim Burton vibe.
@cmartenson Do you still have the WNC Helene disaster on your radar?
I have a coworker in Asheville who says the city finally got potable water, but recovery in general is not going well with some people still in tents in some areas. I’m wondering how people can rebuild with the entire area rezoned as a flood area. Even though Helene was a 1000 year flood, I think rezoning happened and many are forced to sell to the government. Can you dig into this more?
When the hurricane first hit you may recall it was forecasted to move into the Tennessee river valley and stall there. Which would have caused great economic disaster and that, IMO, was the most likely reason it was steered into the mountains instead. Regardless, it doesn’t seem natural that the WNC mountains got hit like this and it’ll cause survivors to move out of a beautiful area.
There’s still a lot of people here in NZ that are died-in-the-wool government stooges, but there’s a slowly growing number of people who are waking up, or at least becoming sympathetic to awake people.
As the number of people who’ve either been injured by the jab, or know someone who’s been killed or injured by it, goes up, so does the people who become sympathetic to those who never got it.
I did a first aid course a month or so ago with a bunch of health care assistants, and I brought up that one of the major contributors to heart attacks now is the 'rona jab. I got the expected gasps of shock from the HCA’s… until the teacher backed me up and agreed with me.
Kudos to you Daz. I’ve only just met my first un-vaxxed person, a Kiwi as well. I’d only had online contact to this point. Was starting to think I was it around these parts.
And they are building camps to so called house the workers…Well the people of NC need help NOW…how about just doing some work to help out. not spend all the time and money on new camps.
There are still lots of folks without proper shelter. Even those with RV/Campers still have it rough. Not everyone is well versed in using gas heat in an RV. Those who have electric available are often hundreds of feet from a simple 110v 15 or20 amp outlet and the distance covered by inadequate extension cords causes breakers to flip when they attempt to use a space heater. I suggest to those I. Helping that they try to use electric blankets, or to try to find a thicker higher rated extension cord to put first in line. The cost of propane to heat and cook is being noticed as well especially by those using the small bottles, and bbq sized exchange canisters.
Interestingly some formerly homeless folks are now partially housed as a result of Helene. I know a man who does yard work in my mom’s neighborhood who moved from a hotel room into a flooded RV that he bought for 1.00 and quickly removed the wet materials from and fixed it up. I have been taking him furnishings as I am offered them by others who know I am taking things to those who need them with my truck. I am matching a really nice leather sofa from an immaculate home with the RV man. He is so excited that he will be able to stretch out and watch a game on a large TV that came with the RV and sleep on a couch. I will be helping him figure out a way to pump water to fill the RV tank to he can have hot showers at home.
Getting a donated RV is only the first step, there is a large learning curve, winter risk management, heating, electic, etc etc and more money going out for needed items. Many folks lost not only homes but jobs and cars as well. Alot of tourism related jobs are gone for the long look ahead.
I drove around many sections of Asheville after midnight Thanksgiving and into Friday morning. It was surreal. No one. No cars. One large area had no businesses open except a single gas station with bags on all but a single pump. There was an unusual collection of vehicles that looked like they could be in a post apocalyptic movie staring Tina Turner. ( Oh yeah, it was Asheville at 2AM). Things that really struck me were the number of road closures and the darkness of what has been bustling business districts. Hardly any lights of any kind for blocks at a time. The lack of oddballs on the sidewalks also stood out. It’s sort of what you expect in Asheville after hours. I am afraid many of them perished, while others likely moved to RV and tent camps where supplies are available.
@preppy Your descriptions are really vivid. It’s been a cold week since your post, and I hope y’all are managing okay. Are there plans for getting through the winter and then rebuilding will ramp back up in the Spring, or is it more “one week at a time”, “one day at a time”. ? I saw news that JD Vance was visiting the area, is that a good sign? On I40 driving west from Greensboro I still see flashing warning signs, “No access to Tennessee via I40” and it reminds me of the devastation.
Someone did a soil sample test in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, they found elevated levels of things typically used in weather modification programs
“They were looking for arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, selenium, silver, and manganese
Above the permissible exposure level were arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, and selenium. How much above:
The area of Asheville my daughter works in had water utilities restored a week or so back. Power line works continues. I spoke with an REMC ( electric utility) engineer today and he said they were just this week getting back to new service hookups since Helene.
Keeping water flowing and the power and lights on in RVs has a learning curve involved. I got a text message from a single mom living in one with 4 kids and her power was out and she was worried about loosing her fridge/freezer contents and yet she did not want to expend propane for the refrigerator due to power outage. I asked if she had remembered to pay her bill. She said as a matter of fact it was a couple days late. I told her they don’t shut if off that quickly. I asked her if she had checked the ground fault buttons on the outlet on the temp pole as it had lightly rained. Bingo, joy, lights back on. I suggested she cover the joint between extension cords and elevate it on a couple of brick or such.
I drove to the north end of my county to check on some property and was amazed at how many trees are still down on the shoulders. Just enough to clear the roads have been moved and the rest remains.
Hwy 64 between Morgantown and Rutherfordton has a couple of places that look like a lake full of logs only vertical.
There is a whole stretch of land along the TN,NC border that has had toxicity issues for decades/generations. I think that a paper mill that was running in Canton NC was an issue
Here is this about the Nolachucky, good news I hope.
not only does the govt not help them but the citizens of NC are still expected to pay property taxes or face fines on homes that don’t exist that they aren’t allowed to rebuild. Insane.
